


A Never Ending War

by Officer_Jennie



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU, Beta Wanted, M/M, On Hiatus, Vampires
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 02:57:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13941102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Officer_Jennie/pseuds/Officer_Jennie
Summary: "A retired agent and a walking time bomb - not ideal in the least, but it’s all Itachi had time for. He sent a silent prayer Shisui’s way, hoping this was all an overreaction on his part, but knowing fully it was not." Ratings, relationships, and characters will all change as the story develops. Vampire AU





	A Never Ending War

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Naruto. If I did, Itachi would've have died 23863543 times.

It was getting worse. 

Itachi’s frowned, his expression barely changing from the movement. The document weighed heavily in his hands despite its meager size; he scanned the report, something he had done several times in the last hour, enough that he was sure he could copy the few sentences verbatim. It was several weeks late – Itachi had nearly the necessary paperwork to label Shisui, the agent who wrote the report, as MIA, and request for a duel team search party to be sent out, by the time the report came in that morning. Itachi had expected some semblance of relief from the document – an explanation of why it was late, a reassurance of Shisui’s safety, a bland statement of the constant cold weather, some sort of informal and unprofessional jab at Itachi, anything that would usually accompany the required details.

Itachi found nothing of the sort as he scanned the thin lines once more. There was no clear indication that Shisui was in danger – no request for backup or supplies, no hint of him being spotted by the enemy, not even a minor injury report – but something still unsettled Itachi about the whole situation. Beyond the lateness of the report, beyond even the short outline format so different from all the others he had received from his older cousin, beyond all that, the wording itself put Itachi on edge; it reminded him of something, of a conversation from the past, just on the edges of his conscious memory. 

Images of blood, the smell of corpses, the taste of bitter steel on his flesh - memories from a past battlefield flooded his mind’s eye, and Itachi mentally shook himself away from them. Blood itself did nothing to scare him. He was a vampire, and, like all of his species, spilling blood was as much a part of his existence as breathing.

The battlefield in his mind, grey and fuzzy, just barely touchable, was anything but necessary. It was savage, festering and biting like a wound that refused to close. It had set chills into his body, waking him in cold sweats many a night. Shisui had barely survived then, shielding Itachi’s young frame with his own - Itachi was too young to remember this, as well as the vast majority of the war itself, but had been told many stories as he grew older. Exaggerations of the few victories helped fight back the bitter taste of an unending war, so many took comfort swapping stories, even with those perhaps too young to hear of such grotesque battles.

Fingers tapped against the desk, breaking the usual silence in his office. He glanced at the request forms on his desk. With the report, there was little chance of getting the requests pushed through. He had two of three copies filled out already (one for his records, one for the Espionage Committee, and one for the Chairman, since Shisui’s potential disappearance would have endangered nearly every agent currently in service). Though Itachi’s influence within the company (though, if he was being honest with himself, it was more of an army than anything) could not be contested, there were limits to even the Uchiha protégé’s power. His intuition, however, rarely led him astray, and Itachi had found it increasing difficult to simply sit still in his desk chair after he first read the report.

Shisui was in trouble. Itachi didn’t have the luxury of time. He didn’t like conversing with his committee in the best of circumstances, let alone when he was so overwhelmed with fear.

Itachi pulled supply forms out of his desk, shifting through them, his mind made up. His experience in the field was limited to low ranking missions and supply checks, but he knew the business inside and out. He knew where to fudge the supply numbers, how many blood capsules he could take without raising alarm, exactly who was in the field where and for how long.

He could get away with a vacation if he applied immediately, but he would have to depart almost as quickly if he wanted to go unnoticed. At the moment, Sasuke was not speaking with him (his little brother was furious with him. It would hurt Itachi to leave without fixing the tension between them, but it was vital to have at least two, perhaps three weeks to find and assess the situation with Shisui. Itachi didn’t have time to wait around for Sasuke to forgive him for something beyond his control anyway) meaning no one would come around visiting while he was away from work.

The one issue he couldn’t fix with forms was the most important: Itachi couldn’t do this alone. He had been trained in self defense and basic assault. On paper, he excelled at combat, but papers did not make up for lack of experience.

Itachi frowned and paused, pen still on paper. He couldn’t take an active recruit. There was a chance they could be sent out on a mission while he was away, and them missing would be noticed. He also couldn’t have them file for a vacation on the exact days he would be gone. Not only would that be suspicious, but their numbers were dwindling as of late. Fewer and fewer were interested in a war with other vampires, and the standstill between vampires and humans had left many prematurely relaxed and complacent. Not to mention their base of operations was far from any major populations…

It would have to be a former recruit or a civilian then, but who? Itachi opened the bottom drawer of his desk, pulling out the files he had on former espionage recruits. It would probably be better to take someone more trained in rescue and recovery, or perhaps a combat specialist, but he couldn’t afford to request the files from the other departments. If he had time to play the politics, he could optimize his team, perhaps even bring a third member, make sure they could be properly armed and supplied.

If he had time for politics, he wouldn’t be going himself.

He finally paused, a twitch of his lips the only giveaway of his pleasure. Luck was not something Itachi liked relying on, but it seemed to at least be in his favor in this. Izumi, a cousin and old friend from his childhood. She had retired from a slight leg wound several years ago, but, if he recalled correctly, had stayed in the area to held train new recruits. She was not technically on any payroll, so she would not be easily missed. A team member with an injured leg was not the ideal partner, but neither was Itachi with his next-to-no field experience and the genetic illness that poisoned his blood and body against him.

A retired agent and a walking time bomb - not ideal in the least, but it’s all Itachi had time for. He finished fudging numbers and quickly filed for a vacation, planning on dropping the form off at his father’s desk before leaving. He sent a silent prayer Shisui’s way, hoping this was all an overreaction on his part, but knowing fully it was not.

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter is a little short - future chapters will be longer. I've been working on this story idea for quite a while now, and am exited that it's finally being put up! Relationships, characters, and ratings will be edited as the story is updated, as not everything is set in stone yet, and I don't want to give away any plot that hasn't happened yet. Feel free to comment! Flames will be deleted :)


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